Harry Potter and the Prophecy of the Centaur
by puddingsworth
Summary: Another year at Hogwarts, and things are as strange as ever. A mysterious photograph, a thought-provoking prediction, and....Snape's old girlfriend?
1. Prologue

Harry Potter and the Prophecy of the Centaur

By Yuuyaku

Prologue  

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

Sixteen-year-old Harry Potter sat in his bedroom at Number 4, Privet Drive, opening the birthday presents from his friends from the wizarding world. It was a sweltering July 31, and Harry felt the cool beads of sweat trickling down his back. 

He was relieved to find out that Hermione didn't get him a study planner, but instead a large collection of Honeydukes' chocolate and broom handle wax for his firebolt.  

Ron's present was equally satisfying. He had given Harry more chocolate, jokes from Zonko's, and a note explaining when Harry would be able to come to the Burrow. 

Harry opened one last parcel, which he could tell was from Hagrid by the scrawled writing on the front. Inside were Chocolate Frogs and Cauldron Cakes. Harry was about to throw out the wrappings when he noticed a photograph of two young women tucked inside. 

Harry recognized the first woman right away-his mother. She beamed at him and waved as her dark auburn hair blew in the wind and her emerald eyes sparkled in the sunlight. She was standing in front of Hogwarts castle alongside another woman. 

He had never seen the other woman before. She was taller than his mother with long, curly, honey-blonde hair and pale olive eyes. She was smiling and winking, but Harry thought that her smile didn't look as welcoming as his mother's.

Looking at the other woman made his scar twinge, and he briefly looked away from the picture. Glancing back at it, he nearly screamed. Lord Voldemort had replaced the mysterious woman, and a dozen dementors were surrounding his mother, moving closer and closer. 

Harry's scar throbbed terribly. Darkness closed in on his eyesight. He dropped the picture and fell off his bed, hitting the floor with a loud thud. 

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

That's all you get for now. And you won't get anymore unless you review. :p So you'd better.  I've been planning this story for ages, so it should be good, I hope. 


	2. Chapter One

Harry Potter and the Prophecy of the Centaur

By Yuuyaku

Chapter One

ß-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry lay on his stomach on the floor of the Gryffindor common room, contemplating on how to start his Potions essay. This wasn't sitting very well with either he or Ron, considering it was only-

"-the second day of term, and that greasy git wants us to write him a two-foot long essay comparing and contrasting the ingredients and effects of Veritaserum and an ordinary truth potion!" exclaimed Ron, throwing down his quill.

Hermione picked up the quill, gave it back to its owner, and said, "As though you weren't expecting it? You know how Professor Snape is, Ron. You should be glad that you got accepted into his Advanced Potions class."

"That was a complete surprise," he muttered. "I still don't know how I got an O on that owl. Very good luck, I reckon. Snape didn't seem too happy about it, that's for sure."

"I think it was because Snape wasn't hovering over us while we took it," added Harry. "But we were all expecting that O in Defense Against the Dark Arts, right?" he added with a grin.

"That's right!" said Hermione with a chuckle. "Speaking of Defense Against the Dark Arts, has anyone seen our new professor? What was her name again? I noticed that she wasn't at the start-of-term feast."

"Er, didn't Dumbledore say that she would arrive in time for her first class? I think her name started with an F…"

Harry dug through his bag and pulled out his schedule. "Well, this says we have her tomorrow afternoon. Wonder why she's late?"

"Never mind that," interrupted Ron. "What's the difference between Veritaserum and an ordinary truth potion, anyway?"

Harry remembered Veritaserum very well. He decided to let Hermione field this one.

She sighed. "It's very simple, Ron-"

"You call this _simple_? For you, maybe. You know, I was less than a point away from having an E instead of an O…"

As Hermione began a long and detailed explanation on the effects of the two potions, Harry began to stuff his books and parchment into his bag. He could barely keep his eyelids open, and decided that he'd just copy from Ron later (even though he knew it wasn't a very good way to start off in Advanced Potions). He said good night to Hermione and Ron and made his way up to his four-poster bed.

After changing into his pajamas and plopping down on his freshly clean linens, a thought occurred to him._ The picture_. After Harry had passed out, he promptly shoved the picture into one of his schoolbooks and forgot about. Now that he was thinking about it, he felt the urge to inquire Hagrid about it. He hopped off the bed and began digging through his trunk. He finally found it inside _Advanced Transfiguration. _He also grabbed the photo album Hagrid had given him years ago and sat on his bed.

He smiled as he looked at his mother waving back at him. Then he glanced at her friend. Had he seen her before? He thumbed through all the pages of the album, but there wasn't a single picture of her. He took the new photo and added it to one of the blank pages at the back. He replaced the album and lay down in his bed once again. He pondered on whether he should show it to Ron and Hermione. He knew he would. He would just leave out one tiny detail-the appearance of Voldemort and the Dementors. He knew exactly what their reactions would be- Ron would panic and Hermione would tell him to go see Dumbledore. He almost laughed. He knew them too well.

ß------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, before I get reviews saying that "this was way to short", I just want to say a few things. One, I posted just a smidgen (don't you like that word?) to prove that I have not died. B, I am aware of the length of my chapter. I am the one who wrote it. And trois, there is one little thing that I would like to know before I post anymore. Actually, one little thing I must know or I won't post anymore, ha! Would you rather me post chapters in short segments (not this short, but when I post them, they will be called something like Chapter 5, Part 1, Chapter 5, Part 2, and so on [though probably not more than 2 parts per chapter]), or regular-length chapters (by my standards, 5-6 pages on Microsoft word, or around 2500 words, give or take)? Personally, I would rather write longer chapters, but I don't mind changing around. Remember, shorter chapters=more updates, longer chapters=fewer updates. Really the same thing once you think about it. I hope I didn't confuse you there. Just one thing…review! Please?


End file.
